I knew there had to be a reason my car battery died...

"Faulty fuel sending module causes stalls after sharp right turns"

In a technical service bulletin read to me at the dealership, Ford says that some drivers of the Focus may encounter loss of power if:
a) the car has less than half a tank of fuel
b) the car has just finished a sharp sustained right turn, and/or
c) under sharp acceleration 

(eopinions.com)

 A-HA!

That explains why Tootsie suddenly died today while I made a sharp right turn, as well as a few months ago while doing the same thing. The website went on to say:

"To ensure your satisfaction", Ford is now paying for replacement of the Fuel Sending Module (Fuel Pump in lay-speak) for certain 2000 and 2001 models. Basically, your model is eligible for replacement if you are having the hesitation/stalling/loss of power noted above.

I don't anticipate too many sharp right turns in my driving future, but for safety (and free) reasons, maybe I should get it fixed. Hmmmm...